DISNEY WALT CO DISNEY PROFILE

The Walt Disney Company (DIS) is a global entertainment and media company operating in four main segments: Movies and Theater, theme Parks, merchandise, and multimedia. Walt Disney Studios, the company's original foundation, is a collection of major movie production and distribution studios including Walt Disney Animation, Pixar Animation, Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, and Miramax Films. The Walt Disney Company (DIS) Parks and Resorts Division operates eleven family-oriented theme parks worldwide, from Florida to Hong Kong. The Disney Consumer products division sells toys, apparel, footwear, food, electronics, games and more, and operates a chain of retail stores throughout the U.S. and Europe. The company's Media Networks and Interactive divisions are a collection of broadcast, internet, radio, cable television, and publishing businesses, including the ABC Network and ESPN.

The Walt Disney Company (DIS) was founded in 1923 by brothers Walt and Roy Disney, primarily as a cartoon studio. In 1928, they created Mickey Mouse, still the company's most enduring symbol, and over the next few decades fueled the growth and innovation of the animation industry with classic titles such as Bambi, Fantasia, and Snow White. In 1955, Walt Disney opened Disneyland in California, pioneering the concept of family-friendly theme parks. The company expanded into live-action films in the 1960s, before Walt Disney's death in 1966 and Roy Disney's death in 1971. Disney avoided a number of hostile takeover bids in the ensuing years before Michael Eisner took over in 1984 and led a period of tremendous growth. The 1996 deal to acquire to acquire ABC for $19 million, in particular, was a major growth point in the company's history. Disney stock has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since 1957 and has been a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average since 1991. Over the past two years, the company's stock price has more than doubled, from a low of near $15 in late 2008 to a level near $40 per share in January 2011. Total revenues in 2010 exceeded $38 billion worldwide.